Interactions among species determine local‐scale diversity, but local interactions are thought to have minor effects at larger scales. However, quantitative comparisons of the importance of biotic interactions relative to other drivers are rarely made at larger scales. Using a data set spanning 78 sites and five continents, we assessed the relative importance of biotic interactions and climate in determining plant diversity in...

We examined mitochondrial DNA control region sequences of 73 Kinabatangan orang‐utans to test the hypothesis that the phylogeographical structure of the Bornean orang‐utan is influenced by riverine barriers. The Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary contains one of the most northern populations of orang‐utans ( Pongo pygmaeus ) on Borneo and is bisected by the Kinabatangan River, the longest river in Sabah. Orang‐utan samples...

We investigated the genetic structure within and among Bornean orang‐utans ( Pongo pygmaeus ) in forest fragments of the Lower Kinabatangan flood plain in Sabah, Malaysia. DNA was extracted from hair and faecal samples for 200 wild individuals collected during boat surveys on the Kinabatangan River. Fourteen microsatellite loci were used to characterize patterns of genetic diversity. We found that genetic diversity was high in...